Snapchat to include Final Four to "Our Story"

During the World Cup and even other music festivals, Snapchat went gone ahead to take snaps and distribute to everyone who had snapchat. And this time round Snapchat is in talk to include Final Four and other NCAA games to enable users experience the games. This is led by the Final Four.

Digiday reports that the Snapchat is negotiating with the NCAA and other sports leagues to include their games as part of Snapchat’s “Our Story” feature. Our Story is a feature that collects photos and videos captured by Snapchat users at a given live event or even on campus by students.

Once they’re submitted, the company curates and immediately distributes the best snaps to everyone else using the app, where they appear as a single, cohesive story. Don’t expect to see any snippets of professional game footage, as these stories will remain completely user generated and made to make you feel like you’re there in person.

Snapchat is merely looking to head off any potential conflicts between itself and the sports leagues so it can share user content without worry. Locking down rights to the Final Four means that Snapchat must land deals with both the NCAA and Turner Broadcasting, according to Digiday, but the company is also looking to sign agreements with other sports leagues.

Snapchat will monetize the NCAA stories by selling brand sponsorships for each of them. Revenues will reportedly be divided between Snapchat, the sports leagues, and broadcasters showing the games on TV. If all goes to plan, the new addition to Our Story will launch with the Final Four, but future NCAA sporting events will also be featured. Snapchat debuted the Our Story feature last year after trial runs at an EDM music festival and the World Cup. In the latter instance, the company lacked any rights deals for covering the World Cup, but apparently the unsanctioned approach isn’t one Snapchat wants to take any longer.

In January, Snapchat unveiled Discover, another new feature that showcases content from news and entertainment partners like CNN, Comedy Central, and ESPN. This was to bring more content closer to their users.